President Trump pulled the plug on an AI executive order signing ceremony on May 21 after a last-minute phone call from David Sacks convinced him the proposed regulations could kneecap American innovation. The order, which would have established federal oversight for powerful AI systems, never made it to the president’s desk.
Sacks, who previously served as Trump’s AI and crypto czar, argued that the draft contained oversight measures amounting to something like an FDA-style approval process for AI. His core pitch was simple: regulate too aggressively, and China wins the race.
How a phone call derailed an executive order
Early on the morning of May 21, Sacks called Trump directly to flag his concerns about the executive order’s regulatory framework. Elon Musk, whose xAI venture is one of the most prominent players in frontier AI development, also reached out to Trump before the scheduled ceremony. Mark Zuckerberg of Meta made contact as well.
Trump appeared to take the feedback seriously. In explaining the postponement, the president said he wasn’t comfortable with certain aspects of the draft.
